An interventional study of CBT or relaxation training in Pediatric, Headache and Anxiety, sponsored by Johns Hopkins University. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 7 Years to 17 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2013-05-24.
Sponsored by Johns Hopkins University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The primary aim of this proposal is to refine the intervention under investigation (i.e., family-based CBT) and evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention and methods (e.g., recruitment, assessments).
The secondary aim of this proposal is to compare the relative efficacy of an 8 session family-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to Relaxation Training (RT) for reducing anxiety and chronic headaches in youth (N = 30) ages 7-17 years. It is hypothesized that CBT will result in greater reductions in both anxiety and headache frequency and severity compared to RT.
Chronic daily headache in children, as well as periodic migraine, is a prevalent, persistent, and debilitating pain condition affecting nearly 1 in 10 children. Emerging evidence suggests that affected youth also experience excessive and impairing symptoms of anxiety which may play a role in the etiology and/or maintenance of headache pain. Current behavioral treatments are effective in reducing headache frequency and intensity, however, many youth remain symptomatic and the exacerbating role of anxiety has largely been ignored. Moreover, current psychosocial treatments fail to incorporate parents in the therapeutic process. The current proposal is a pilot study designed to address the shortcomings of current behavioral treatments by evaluating the initial efficacy of a family-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for youth who present with chronic tension headaches and migraines, and excessive anxiety. Rigorous scientific methods will be employed, including a randomized design, multiple informants and measures to assess key constructs, independent evaluators (IEs) to assess outcomes, and intensive training for therapists and IEs to assure a high quality of implementation. Using a pre-post experimental design, 30 youth with chronic tension headaches and/or migraines and anxiety will be randomly assigned to receive 8 weeks of family-based CBT or relaxation training (RT). IEs will complete assessments of child symptoms and functioning at pre and post-treatment and at one month follow-up. Youth in the family-based CBT condition are expected to evince greater reductions in both headache and anxiety frequency, severity, and duration. Results from this study will be used to make empirically informed modifications to the CBT treatment manual in order to facilitate replication and dissemination of the interventions to clinicians and researchers.
1,226 studies on the registry are indexed under Headache; 202 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 15 is below the median of 60 across 918 interventional studies indexed under Headache.
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To be included in the study, all children must:
Exclusion Criteria:
Key treatment ingredients in CBT include psychoeducation, trigger identification, progressive muscle relaxation training, cognitive restructuring, problem solving, in vivo exposure, and relapse prevention (see Appendix I for an outline of the treatment manual).
Behavioral: CBT or relaxation training
RT will consist of progressive muscle relaxation training, diaphragmatic breathing, and thermal biofeedback.
Behavioral: CBT or relaxation training
8 weeks of CBT or relaxation training.
Daily Headache and Anxiety Diary
Youth and parents will complete a daily headache and anxiety diary to track the frequency and severity of headaches and anxiety symptoms. In addition, the diary will assess medication use, missed school/activities, as well as antecedents and consequences.
Time frame: Daily for three months
Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS)
The Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS) will be completed by an independent evaluator to assess the severity of current (within the past week) anxiety symptoms in youth. The instrument consists of two sections. The first section contains a 50-item anxiety symptoms checklist. The second section assesses the severity and impairment of these symptoms. A total score is computed by summing the severity items. The measure has acceptable internal consistency, reliability, and convergent/divergent validity.
Time frame: 2 months
Pediatric Migraine Disability Assessment (PedMIDAS)
The Pediatric Migraine Disability Assessment (PedMIDAS) is used to assess migraine disability across multiple domains of functioning including school, home, social, and recreational. The measure consists of 6 items measuring the number of days in which activities were missed as a result of headache/migraine. The measure yields a total score by summing items. Total scores correspond to one of four "disability grades:" 0-10 = little to no disability, 11-30 = mild disability, 31-50 = moderate disability, and \>50 = severe disability.
Time frame: 2 months
Pediatric Migraine Disability Assessment (PedMIDAS)
The Pediatric Migraine Disability Assessment (PedMIDAS) is used to assess migraine disability across multiple domains of functioning including school, home, social, and recreational. The measure consists of 6 items measuring the number of days in which activities were missed as a result of headache/migraine. The measure yields a total score by summing items. Total scores correspond to one of four "disability grades:" 0-10 = little to no disability, 11-30 = mild disability, 31-50 = moderate disability, and \>50 = severe disability.
Time frame: 3 months
Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS)
The Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS) will be completed by an independent evaluator to assess the severity of current (within the past week) anxiety symptoms in youth. The instrument consists of two sections. The first section contains a 50-item anxiety symptoms checklist. The second section assesses the severity and impairment of these symptoms. A total score is computed by summing the severity items. The measure has acceptable internal consistency, reliability, and convergent/divergent validity.
Time frame: 3 months
This study is completed, as verified in May 2013. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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